In home and business environments which utilize telephone (voice), internet (data) and television or other video services, it is becoming increasingly common for traditional providers of one of the services to offer all three of the services. These “triple play” providers provide internet or other data access and communication, video transmission and/or reception, and voice communications. Typically, the data for these services is transmitted to and from the premises using one communication medium, and then the signals are distributed to various locations and/or converted for various systems at the premises.
In providing “triple play” and other bundled data services, it is common to have video splitters and similar devices located at a distribution point. Often times, the premises were not constructed with triple play services in mind, and there is not a convenient distribution point defined. The distribution and/or conversion devices may be difficult to arrange given existing telephone jack, cable jack, power outlet or other device locations. Placement of the distribution and/or conversion devices may be disorganized, not aesthetically pleasing, and inconvenient for purposes of protecting the devices from damage.
In some triple play services, the provider is delivering its content via optical fiber and installing the optical network terminal (ONT) on the inside of the premise. In this particular installation, fiber optic cable is needed to be routed inside the living unit directly to the ONT. This fiber optic cable can be installed inside the walls, or on the outside of the walls. In either installation, there is a potential for excess fiber optic cable that needs to be properly managed.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.